From the Ashes
by Tybalt Volumnia
Summary: Nicole has been persecuted constantly and is now forced to flee with the help of Espio from New Mobotropolis. Can anything good come of this? NicolexOC Slight AU from Archie comics
1. Escape

I do not own Sonic or any of the other characters present. All rights go to Sega and Archie comics.

* * *

Espio ran through the forest as fast as he could. He had been able to get a head start on Nicole's pursuers but he didn't want to take the chance that a few of the more...enthusiastic of their pursuers wouldn't find out what had happened and decide to follow them. Looking down at the small hand held device strapped on his side he couldn't help but sigh.

They had both been having a difficult time after the Iron Dominion had been defeated. Espio had to start the difficult process of gaining his friends trust again. His betrayal had hurt their relationship and it was still going to take him a little time to fix it.

Nicole had been having a worse time than Espio though. Her friends were still able to accept her but she began to be persecuted by almost the entire population of New Mobotropolis. Because she was running the city her apparent betrayal had been the most dangerous of the them. Her control of the nanites that made up the city allowed the Iron Queen complete control just by conquering one A.I program.

Thankfully Sally and Sonic had been able to rescue Nicole from her enslavement and she and Sally decided that for the time she would pretend to still be under the Iron Queen's control. With her help, they had been able to defeat the Queen and peace returned to New Mobotropolis. So they had hoped.

Mina Mongoose had decided to voice her complaints about Nicole through her songs, hoping to show the people, specifically the Freedom Fighters, that having one program in charge of the city could be a problem. This had results that she hadn't expected, it started a fear and hatred of Nicole that began to worm its way into the people hearts, having them begin to want Nicole taken offline.

Eggman had decided to attack during this time, with his new weapon, the Death Egg Mark 2. Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters had to fight very hard but they were able to send the madman packing, at a price though. Sally Acorn, Nicole's best friend, had been severely injured and was now hospitalized.

Without the beloved princess to help keep the emotions of the people even they had begun to voice their protestations of Nicole more and more. Even the council seemed to be against her as they had decided to confine her to Freedom HQ. However, it seemed that some of the villagers weren't pleased with just this.

Espio had been in the city to shop for some supplies for him and the other Chaotix. As he was paying for a new radio for Vector, he saw a group of villagers sneaking, or at least trying to, behind one of the houses nearby. Years of adventures with his friends had helped him learn a few things. One of those was that there is a certain feeling you get in your stomach when something bad is going to happen. Espio was getting that feeling in spades at the moment.

Thanking Sir Charles he walked around the corner until he was out of sight, then went invisible and ran towards where he had seen the group disappear. When he got close he slowed down and he simply walked around the edge of the house. Behind the house there was a small group of citizens in a quiet but heated debate.

"I say we do it now! They can't stop all of us, nor can they harm us as they have sworn to protect us!"

This was greeted with a few nods and whispers of assent to this idea. Another one of them stood up and began to speak.

"Very well, we have all heard your idea, now, may I have my say?"

Looking around him, there appeared to be no problem at his continuing.

"Thank you. We all know how protective the Freedom Fighters can be about Nicole. Despite our differences on this matter they are still the only ones that have been able to time and again defend us. If we were to storm in and destroy Nicole right in front of them, they may decide to quit doing this, and none of us would want that. So I say that we wait until later tonight, then strike. This way, it may appear that it was done by one of their many enemies, and we can still keep our protectors."

Espio, while disgusted with the whole idea, had to admit that this was solid planning. However now was not the time to admire their plan. He had to go and warn his friends and to see what needed to be done.

* * *

It had taken him a little bit of time to gather what Freedom Fighters were available. Sonic and Amy had been easy to round up, Sonic had barely left the hospital and Amy was staying close by in case he needed some comfort. Rotor had been wandering around town, the confinement of Nicole had hit him pretty hard. Tails had been busy fixing up the Tornado after it had taken a pretty big beating during the fight with the Death Egg. Unfortunately Antoine and Bunnie were busy with King Elias and time was running short so this was all of the group that Espio could gather inside Freedom HQ.

When Espio had told them about what he had overheard there was mixed reactions. Tails had gotten a little angry but managed to control himself. Nicole had crumpled to the floor and was sobbing. Tails walked over to Nicole and put his arms around her trying to console her. Sonic had seemed to lose more of his old cocky nature and seemed to slump lower. Amy put her arms around him to support him but it was obvious that she was also hurting. Rotor was the most expressive about his feelings.

"What do they think they are doing! Do they think that we would stand by silently and just let this happen! Well they have another thing coming. I'm going to beat them so bad..."

"I don't believe that would be a good idea."

Looking at Espio with consternation, Rotor looked almost ready to snap him in half. Espio merely glared right back at him. After a few seconds of glaring at each other, Rotor seemed to slowly calm down.

"Well, what would you suggest?"

Espio had to think for a few seconds. He did have a plan but he didn't know how they would take it.

"I suggest...that I take Nicole to a safe haven, outside of the city, until we can get the people to calm down and see reason."

Everyone looked at each other and silently agreed to the plan. Rotor sighed and walked off to download Nicole to her small carry computer. Tails, Sonic, and Amy started to say their goodbyes to Nicole. Espio merely kept lookout of the window, making sure that nobody from the group got a bit itchy and decided to rush in.

"I'm sorry things have turned out this way Nicole," Tails began to say, "but I'm sure that we can get them to see sense."

"Yeah! Don't you worry about it," Amy said, trying to raise their spirits, "We can still visit and tell you about what is happening here."

"I'll come as often as I can and give you info on Sally's condition." Both Nicole and Sonic had been torn up about her injury's and any chance to learn about how she would be doing would make Nicole's forced leave a little more bearable.

Nicole thanked everyone but she didn't seem to be able to show any kind of feelings. Because of what had happened she was now being forced to leave her city, her friends, and Sally when she needed her.

Suddenly Rotor yelled out that everything was done and that Nicole only needed to drop the hologram to finish the process. Sighing, Nicole slowly let her semi-physical form slip away as she went back into her small computer. Before she completely disappeared she looked at everyone and gave a small smile.

"Thank you. For everything."

With that, the process was completed, and Espio could carry her to the safe haven. Rotor stepped out of the computer room and walked over to Espio. As he handed over Nicole he looked right at Espio.

"Take care of her, and come back as soon as you can to tell us where she is."

Espio nodded as he placed Nicole into a small leather pouch he had strapped on.

"I will. I'm sorry about all of this. She will be safe, I promise you that."

He shook hands with everyone, saying their goodbyes and with that he walked out the door. As he ran into the forest he could see a group of the villagers walking towards Freedom HQ. He had been able to get her out in time, thank Aurora. Now to get her to safety.

* * *

Where is Espio taking Nicole? Will she even be able to return to her home and friends? We shall have to wait and see.

Okay, so some of you may be wondering what the heck is going on. If you read the Archie _Sonic the Hedgehog_ Comics, then you would know that Sally actually was roboticized and that Ixis Naugus had taken over as king and that Elias had been kicked out. I wanted to be able to return Sally to normal but after a few hours of research on Mobius Wiki about roboticization, how to escape it, who invented how to escape it etc. I realized something. I couldn't get her out without bringing in aliens. Specifically the Bem and I would prefer to not have to go through that whole problem.

I also decided to not have the whole Ixis Naugus taking over the city for a few reasons. 1. I would have to kick him out and that would just be a pain in the butt. 2. I would have to deal with Geoffery St. John and all of his issues. 3. I am tired of Ian's writing. Some of you may not agree with me but he just won't give the characters a break from problems. They go from one fight to the next to the next on and on, it's just really tedious to read. So I decided I had no qualms changing up some of what he wrote. You may not agree with me and I respect your opinions. Please don't flame me for not agreeing with yours. 4. Final reason. This way makes it just a smidge easier for people who haven't read the comics to get into the story. Less for them to learn and thereby easier to just jump in.

Phew...Sorry for the rant, just needed to explain a few things. Thank you for reading and please review. Until later,

Tybalt


	2. Meetings

Well, here we are. I own nothing in this except for the character Samuel.

* * *

Night had fallen a few hours ago but Espio continued to travel, determined to make it to where he was taking Nicole as soon as he could. Throughout most of the trip Nicole had been quiet. Usually when they went somewhere together there would be some slight banter. She would ask about what was going on with the Chaotix, or the latest happening on Angel Island. Espio had decided to just keep silent until she felt ready to talk.

Looking up at the sky Espio noticed that the stars were getting difficult to see.

'Hmm...It's going to rain soon. I need to find a good place to stay until it passes.'

Continuing to walk but looking for some shelter he was able to see a good sized tree after some time. If it started to thunder he would need to find something else, but it would suffice to keep out the rain at least.

Sitting down under the protection of the tree, Espio shut his eyes and simply waited for the rain to begin.

A small voice broke through the silence.

"Espio, are they right?"

Surprised by her sudden question he pulled her out of the satchel and opened the small computer. Nicole's face appeared on the screen and Espio's heart went out to her. She had a blank look and all the life seemed to have left her eyes.

"Who is right?"

"The people in the city. Are they right to fear me? I did fall under the Iron Queens power, even if it was only for a little while. I could have been merciless towards them. Maybe..."

"Do not finish that sentence."

Nicole looked up at Espio in surprise.

"We both made mistakes but we are trying to fix them. Neither of us deserve what those people wanted to do to you. Remember what Dimitri said? We have to stand up to them, reasonably and knowing that we are in the right. We can't give up yet."

Nicole let a small smile grace her face. Thinking about it, she shouldn't view their taking her away as another banishment, but as a regrouping while they plan what to do again.

"Thank you Espio. You're a good friend."

"You're welcome."

The rain had begun to fall as Espio had predicted but they didn't care. The awkwardness from the beginning was gone and they began talking like nothing had happened. Just two friends out for an outing that had unfortunately got stuck in the rain.

* * *

"Hey Espio, where are we going anyway?"

He had been walking for awhile by now and he had completely forgotten to inform her about where they were headed.

"I know someone who we can trust. He lives far enough that you will be safe."

He could sense that Nicole wanted to ask something else. After a few seconds she asked,

"He...He won't mind that I'm not...He won't mind that I'm a program?"

Espio couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"No, he won't mind. In fact, he will probably be quite interested. He is a bit of a computer nut."

"Oh..."

Espio looked down at her questioningly. Realizing what he had implied he quickly said,

"Oh, no no, don't worry. He is honorable, if nothing else, so if we ask him to not... examine you, then I'm sure he will oblige our wish."

Both of them realized that this conversation would only get more awkward so they both decided to end it there.

"How close are we?"

Looking at the night sky, Espio saw the slight change in the placement of the constellations. Thinking back to the last time he had visited his friend, he replied,

"Very close."

* * *

Samuel had long ago gone to bed. In fact, much of the night had already passed when there was a loud knocking at his door. It took him a few moments to become awake enough to realize that the pounding was not some strange sound in his head but the door.

Getting out of bed he grabbed a nearby shirt, not really caring about which and went to his front door.

"Who's there?"

"If I said a tired old companion and his friend would you let us in?"

Smiling at the voice from his past, Samuel opened up his door to Espio.

"Well, well. If I had known that you were coming with company, I would have gotten more presentable."

Looking at his old friend, Espio couldn't help but chuckle. Samuel's long red hair went down past his small but floppy ears and nearly brushed the floor. The last time he had seen Sam the hair was only at his hips. His gray fur stood out against his black sweat pants and tank top while his piercing yellow gold eyes stared at Espio in confusion.

"I thought you said you had company. Where are they?"

Smiling conspiratorially at him, Espio reached into his satchel and pulled out a small computer. Opening it up and turning it towards Samuel he said,

"Samuel, meet Nicole."

Looking at Espio quizzically, Samuel bent down closer to the screen and nearly fell back when a mobian face appeared.

"Hello Samuel. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Staring at the face for a few seconds, Samuel smiled and replied,

"Good evening Nicole. It is very nice to meet you as well."

Turning to Espio and shrugging he said,

"Well, I may as well invite you two in. It's more comfortable inside."

* * *

It took Espio some time to explain Nicole's current situation to Samuel. While being told her story, all he did was sip his tea. No reactions, and no questions.

"That's why we're here Sam. We need you to keep Nicole here until we can figure out a way to talk some sense into the people."

Smiling at Espio, Samuel stood up and offered his hand.

"Of course Espio. It would be an honor to help you two out."

Grinning, Espio took the proffered hand in a firm shake. As he let go though, Samuel got a look on his face that Espio knew all to well. Something had dawned on him and it either meant something truly brilliant or something that may blow them up. Espio prayed for the first.

"Hold on one second, I'll be right back."

Leaping towards a nearby door, he opened it and disappeared down some stairs, his hair trailing after him. Sighing, Espio sat down and picked up his cup of tea, taking a sip.

"So...Samuel. How do you two know each other anyway."

Smiling, Espio set down his tea and turned towards Nicole.

"We first met when I was assigned to watch Knuckles. I would report to him anything I thought important that was happening. While our relationship was originally just field agent and his contact, he was always making sure I was okay. He always wanted to here about how I was doing after I had made my report." Espio chuckled, "He never could leave me be. Before I realized it, I was coming to visit him as a friend, not as my contact."

"But why did you bring me here? He may be your friend but this doesn't seem to be a good place for me. I can't do much here and I would hate to be useless."

Before Espio could think of a response Samuel, who had gotten back upstairs, answered her.

"Ah my dear, you will be far from useless. It gets lonely up here and someone to talk to will be of immense help. There is also this."

From behind his back he pulled out a medium sized box. Nicole looked at it quizzically but Espio just stared at Samuel in shock.

"Samuel... You finished them?"

Samuel smiled at him and nodded. Turning towards Nicole he placed the box down next to her.

"I think some explaining is in order. I suppose Espio has already told you of my connection to the Shinobi clan so let me briefly tell what I do. I am not only Espio's contact, but I am the local intelligence man. It is my duty to examine any potential threat's weapons and technology to discover any weaknesses."

Samuel opened up the box and pulled out a large collection of vials. Nicole gasped in surprise,

"Nanites?"

Placing them down on the table, Samuel continued.

"That is correct. When Eggman began using these as weapons, Espio was able to collect some for me to examine. I suppose you have already done the same so no need to bore you with that info. However, I decided to do some experimentation with these and I was able to come up with a new group. Since you used these to create your hologram form in Mobotropolis I thought that you might want to give these a try."

Nicole was shocked. He was saying this with such conviction, did he know how much power she required to keep her hologram form? Yet, she was intrigued. The possibility to truly live, even only as a hologram, was something she longed for.

"Okay. How are we going to do this?"

* * *

What will happen? Will Nicole get her dream to live? Will the people ever accept her again? All coming up in this and my companion story.

Yes, it is a bit weird that Sam, who lives out in the forest, away from most people has the resources to create Nanites but considering that Eggman is able to build his fleets and even the Death Egg in a few months I think I didn't go to far out of the realm of possibility.

Please Review,

Tybalt


	3. Change

Here we are, the third chapter. Sorry for taking so long, more explanation at the end. I own nothing, it all belongs to Archie and Sega

* * *

Nicole knew that Espio's clan was powerful and hidden enough that it made sense for Sam to have a laboratory for examining anything that their agents might bring him. However, she was still amazed when he plugged her into his expansive computer network. After having been stuck in that portable device it felt good to stretch her legs, so to speak.

Espio was a little bit reluctant for this it appeared.

"Sam, are you sure this is safe?"

Smiling as he started setting up the nanites for the process he replied,

"Of course Espio. I was so intrigued when you mentioned that Nicole had been able to create a faux body that I began to experiment with the idea. I think that... OUCH!"

While he had been chatting with Espio, Samuel failed to notice that one of the glass tubes of nanites had cracked, leaving a small but sharp edge. As he was pulling it out it slipped, cutting his finger rather deep. He rapidly pulled his hand back instinctively, and the nanite tube began to fall.

"Careful!"

Due to his intensive training, Espio easily managed to grab the tube and he set it back in it's place. As he went over to see if Sam needed any help treating the wound, no one noticed some remainder of Sam's blood slowly dropping down amongst the nanites and disappearing.

As Espio looked over Sam's wound, Sam began to chuckle,

"I'm sure I'll be fine Esp. It's merely a scratch. Just some items from my first aid kit upstairs and I'll be ready to go."

It didn't take long for Sam's wound to be placated, and for him to finish setting up the nanites.

The process was simple really. Sam had set the nanite tubes inside small vial holders in a large dome like object. The dome was wired to allow an AI which would be inside of Samuel's computer to control the nanites much like how Nicole had been doing in Mobotropolis.

"Now, Nicole, are you ready?"

"Um..."

Nicole had spent enough time around living beings that she had been able to start emulating their reactions to things. She had done this to such a degree that she was almost completely able to feel emotion. However, while this allowed for emotions of happiness and joy, it unfortunately came with fear. That was what was coursing through Nicoles system at the moment.

"Are you sure this is going to be safe?"

Smiling and nodding his head Sam knew that she was feeling a little bit of trepidation.

"Don't worry Nicole. The worst that could happen is that it doesn't work. I made sure to put in a fail safe if their was a risk of you being deleted in any way. Now, should we start?"

Taking a couple of deep cybernetic breaths, Nicole gave an affirmative.

Moving over to his computer, Samuel Typed in the pass code to start the transference.

"Now Nicole, if you feel anything is going wrong during the transference, please tell us. We want to make sure you aren't hurt."

"Okay."

Espio was still a little worried about the whole thing. Nicole was a good friend, and the whole thing seemed a little risky. He had known Samuel for a long time, but his friend was prone to do things a little bit faster then they should be done.

"Sam, are you sure this is going to work? You've checked all the possible problems, right?"

Nodding his head, Samuel shot Espio his trademark grin. He then did a thorough double check of everything, just to make sure Espio felt more secure.

He went back to his keyboard and asked Nicole,

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

With that, Samuel hit the start button.

Espio had thought that the process would be noisy. The whole thing seemed to be right out of a horror novel so he had expected electrical thrumming, flashes of lightning, and for Samuel to start cackling. However, it was very still in the lab. The only sign that anything was even happening was the loading bar on the main computer screen.

Espio turned to Sam, discomfort clear in his voice,

"Sam, you're positive that nothing will..."

Espio's question was silenced when they noticed the nanites starting to leave their glass tubes and begin to fly around inside of the dome. They spun faster and faster, starting to collect in the center, becoming more and more dense.

Sam looked at the loading bar and seemed a little shocked. The bar, which only moments ago had read 15% was now at 40% and climbing faster.

"Nicole? Is everything fine?"

He could sense the confusion in her voice when she answered him.

"Why yes, it's all going perfectly. Why, is something the matter?"

The bar had increased to 79% and continued to climb.

"Well, the process seems to be going faster than planned. You're positive that everything is fine?"

95%

"Why yes, everything is perfectly..."

100%

As Nicole's voice was cut off, a bright flash of light came from the dome. Turning rapidly and running towards it, Sam and Espio saw Nicole's hologram laying on the floor, seemingly passed out.

Espio shouted as Sam pried loose the dome door.

"Nicole!"

Sam's instincts took over when he got to her as he began checking for a pulse. He was about to slap himself for forgetting that she was a hologram but then he realized... she HAD a pulse.

Doing a quick check to make sure that her body wasn't damaged, he lifted her up and over to a chair.

Espio knelt beside her as Sam rushed upstairs to grab some things.

"Nicole? Nicole, can you hear me?"

* * *

It had been a strange process for Nicole. There was no pain, no odd feelings, just a simple data transfer. She had done this hundreds of times but there was something off about this time. She felt... heavy. Parts of her body were moving and doing things without her even bidding the nanites to do. She tried to get the nanites to open her holographic eyes but they weren't seeming to obey. Thinking back to what Sally had told her about physical beings and how they worked, she opened her eyes.

Then she heard Espio,

"Nicole? Nicole, can you hear me?"

As her eyes got used to the light, she saw Espio next to her with a worried look on his face. Trying to speak by using the nanites like she had always done, they weren't seeming to respond to her. In fact, when she tried to do a data check to see where the problem lay, she found that it was impossible. Her whole interface had been changed, and she had no clue how to operate it. She had become...

Mobian.

* * *

Dun Dun DUUUN! Yeah, sorry for the cheesy and cliché ending but sometimes those are the best. Also, I apologize for not having a consistent uploading times with my stories. I'm working on trying to write everyday, but it's difficult. If only life wasn't so intrusive it would be easier.

Oh, and for a quick explanation for what happened and why: Nanites in some ideas, and for my opinion at any time, are used to create and fix things. Given information they can change human features like in a Doctor Who episode.

Anyway, thank you for reading and please read and review.

Tybalt


	4. Movement

I own nothing, everything belongs to Archie and Sega.

* * *

Nicole was happy. No, not happy, she was joyful, ecstatic, pleased because she was finally real. She could now walk, talk, sing, dance, feel, and even live. She was able to look around the room and saw things with eyes, not with electrodes. She saw all of the machines, and equipment, and tables and chairs. She saw Espio kneeling next to her and a little behind him she saw the stairs with Sam leaping down them with a box.

Looking back down at Espio she saw that he seemed worried about something. She was still getting used to controlling a body without her usual computer programs running in the background but she managed to smile at him and made a small motion up and down with her head. It seemed to calm him a little.

Sam came over with the first aid kit and began to look Nicole over, checking for any cuts, bruises, or any other injuries that Nicole might have had. After he finished he looked up at Nicole and began to ask her a few questions.

"Nicole, can you hear me? If you can, smile or blink."

Having already smiled at Espio earlier the second movement of her mouth was easier to do then it had before. This seemed to relieve both of them and began to discuss with each other.

"Espio, I think that right now it would be best to take her upstairs and let her lie down. The change to a corporeal form may have left her body tired."

Espio agreed and walked over to Nicole.

"Okay Nicole, I'm going to carry you upstairs so you can rest a little. You ready?"

Nicole smiled to signal that she was ready. Espio nodded and putting one arm underneath her knees and the other on her upper back he lifted and began to carry her up the stairs. Sam followed after them but at the top of the stairs he left to go to the kitchen.

"I'm going to make something for her to eat. We don't know how strong she is, and given that she has, in a way, just been born she will probably be hungry. You know where the guest room is, I'll be there in a bit."

Espio nodded and walked down the hallway. As he walked Nicole began to look around a little. She managed to catch a glimpse of herself in a mirror that Espio passed by. She looked just like her hologram form. A lynx with black mitten feet and hands, with a purple robe and velvet black hair. There were no beads in her hair and it seemed to be a little longer than she remembered but that didn't matter. She was still in a mental haze at the fact that she was now real.

She was afraid though. Afraid that at any moment she might wake up and the whole thing would only be a dream. That all this was merely an illusion created by her resting data base in Freedom H.Q.

She tried to remember what it was that Mobians would say about dreams. Something about pinching yourself to see if it was real.

'I've had no previous experience with being truly alive though. How am I to tell what is real now and what isn't?'

Espio was now in the guest room, and was slowly laying her down on the bed. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her, leaning down close.

"Nicole, I know you can hear me which is good, but can you do anything else? Try raising your arms."

As Nicole lay in the bed, she began to think about how to do that. She didn't know how much of this new body worked but she was an ex-sophisticated highly intelligent computer program. When all else failed, there was still deductive reasoning.

'If this is how I open and shut my eyes' she said, blinking a couple of times, 'and this is how I move my neck' her head moved back and forth slowly, 'then maybe this is how you move your arms.'

Nicole began to slowly use the muscle in her body to raise her left arm. Unbidden, a large smile spread across her face, and a rush of emotion went coursing through her body. She turned her head to look over at Espio and could see the same grin on his face.

"That's very good. Now, do that with both of them, and your legs."

This Nicole did, raising one limb, then the other, then another multiple times. By the time Sam had gotten back with some food she was able to control her body movement well enough that she was sitting up.

"Well, it's nice to see that you can move about. Now, let's see about getting something into your stomach."

* * *

"You sure you're going to be fine taking care of her Sam?"

Espio was packing up his satchel to make the trip back to Mobotropolis. He needed to make sure that the Freedom Fighters knew that Nicole was safe.

"We'll be fine Espio. It shouldn't be to hard and it will be good to have company again."

Espio stopped packing and looked pointedly at Sam.

"Sam, as much as I like you, I need you to promise me something. No unnecessary tests on Nicole. You have a habit of getting to focused in figuring out how things work, and Nicole is a thinking and now fully living person."

Sam gave a sheepish smile to Espio.

"I promise. I'll only run some necessary tests on her blood and other important factors and nothing else."

Sam put out his hand and Espio grabbed it sealing the promise. Shouldering his bag, he walked over to the guest room with Sam following behind him. He stopped at the doorway into the room and just looked in.

Nicole lay on the bed, turned on her side and sleeping. A small smile was on her face, it hadn't seemed to have left it's position since she had become Mobian. Sam whispered to him,

"Don't worry Espio. I promise to keep her safe. You have my word."

Espio let a small smile come up and he turned and gave Sam a hug.

"Thank you Sam, for everything."

"You're very welcome Espio."

Letting go, Espio said his last goodbye and left the house. Sam stood in the doorway waving goodbye and he stayed there until he could no longer see his friend. Letting out a sigh he went back in his house and closed the door.

'Well' he thought, 'this is going to be quite the adventure.'

* * *

Things are starting to get interesting around here. I hope you all enjoyed and please read and review.

Tybalt


	5. Talking

Sorry for the wait guys, I've got school going on here and all that so my time is taken up a lot. I'm working when I can/remember so don't worry I still remember this. I own none of this, all rights go to Sega and Archie comics.

* * *

How do you teach a highly intelligent ex-AI program how to talk? This question had been wracking Sam's brain for the past week while he helped Nicole get used to having a physical body. It was interesting to watch her experience the world like this for the first time and the constant look of joy and excitement was very infectious. One of the downsides to this was that trying to get her to go to sleep was like that old saying "Can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink." He would sometimes wake up and catch her trying to sneak out of her room.

Her capability to move around had greatly improved during the last few days. She was now able to walk by herself fairly well. It helped that the body she had created was like an adults, completely capable of walking it was just a disconnect from how she was used to making herself move and the way that she now had to.

'Was the same true for her ability to speak though?' he thought as he finished making their breakfast, his hair tied up to make sure that it wouldn't fall into their food. 'Will we have to start from the very beginning as if she were a child, or will it just be a simple connection of sounds and then she'll be able to communicate?'

He sighed as he pulled the frying pan off the stove and set it down on the counter. He placed his hands on the counter and stared down at the pan, releasing all thought from his mind in the hopes that a brilliant idea might come by giving his brain a short rest.

* * *

To say the entire experience had been strange for Nicole would have been an understatement. However she wasn't about to start regretting what had happened. She had told Sally a long time ago that in her computerized form she was susceptible to hackers and what she had feared had come about. Now however she would no longer have to worry about that; at least that was what she hoped.

Sitting up in her bed she couldn't help but smile as she took in that moment. The sun coming in, the sound of the animals outside the cabin, the smell of food. At the thought of food she felt a rumbling within her which Sam had told her indicated that her body was telling her that it required food. The first time that it had happened she had been scared and nearly jumped off of her chair at the table looking for whatever had made the noise. Sam had fallen down from laughing at her reaction to her stomach.

She slowly got out of bed and after changing out of her...out of Sam's pajamas and into her usual dress she walked out to the kitchen. Sam was already there of course, he always seemed to be awake. She had to stifle a small chuckle at seeing his hair tied up in an almost bun type style. Usually he had it loose and flowing, a long red stream coming down his back so seeing it in a different style made him look a little bit silly. With a smile she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

He seemed to jump a little at her touch but after a second he whirled around with a smile on his face.

"Good morning Nicole! I was just finishing up our breakfast so just sit down for a few minutes and it will be done."

Smiling at him she practically skipped over to the table and sat down. Her good mood was extremely infectious and Sam couldn't help but feel as if everything would turn out fine. Turning back to the food he added the last few touches and separated them to two plates and went over to the table.

"There you are, please enjoy.

Nicole smiled and dug into her breakfast, taking occasional breaks when Sam helped her with her eating etiquette. Unlike how their usual days went though, today Sam wasn't trying to make small talk. He just sat there, sometimes remarking not to put her elbows on the table or mentioning the she should not lean in so close to the plate. He reminded her of Knuckles, always deep in thought and contemplating something.

Nicole tapped on the table near Sam to get his attention and tried to communicate her question on how he was feeling. It took him a couple of seconds but he caught onto the fact that she had realized something was up. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm okay Nicole. I was just wondering what to do about how to teach you to talk. I don't really know how to do it, but I know that we need to start soon or we might not be able to teach it to you. Unfortunately I don't really know much about this and..."

Samuel suddenly found his mouth covered with Nicole's hand making it impossible for him to continue rambling. She slowly took her hand away, as if afraid that he would immediately launch into another tirade about how ill equipped he was to teach her how to talk. She lowered her hand to his shoulder and patted it a few times, obviously trying to comfort him.

She then made few signs, pointing at him then her mouth while opening and closing it a few times. Their most common way of communicating the last couple of days had been charades so after a few guesses he was able to figure out what she wanted.

"Wait, you want me to teach you how to talk?"

Nicole nodded her head enthusiastically indicating that he had got it.

"You're sure? I might mess up and we might have to undo something I would have taught you, maybe spend months, possible a few years until you can talk well enough to get by. Are you sure that this is okay with you?"

Once again Nicole nodded, a bit hesitant but with a gleam in her eyes. Sam sighed, knowing that this would be a big step and wanting to make sure that he was ready as well.

"Alright then. Let's start."

Nicole nearly leaped out of her chair but managed to control herself. The most important next step to becoming a fully capable mobian was here and she was ready for it.

* * *

"Aah, Eeh, I, O, Euu. Repeat."

Nicole took a deep breath and tried to repeat him again.

"Aeah... Eih... I, Oo... Euu."

She took another breath and then looked at Sam. He was smiling a little at her rather poor attempt but it was getting better then what it had been the previous day. He had decided to start with simple vowel sounds than to later try consonants and maybe a few everyday words. She had been having a hard time with A and E but the rest had been progressing very well.

Today he had decided to have them sit outside his house on a small bench near the back. It was a clear day with a couple of clouds floating lazily by. They sat next to each other, he sounding off the vowels and she trying her best to repeat the them.

"Okay, I think we should move on for a bit. Best to give a little rest on these sounds."

However Nicole began shaking her head back and forth violently and held up one finger to him.

"One more time? I don't know, we need to make sure that we don't accidentally push your voice box to far."

Nicole began to pout, turning her head away from him and crossing her arms. Samuel couldn't help but chuckle at her behavior but it was cute enough that he couldn't help but crumble.

"Alright, alright. You win. But only one more time, got it?"

Nicole smiled and turned back to him her entire being focused on this one task.

"Aah, Eeh, I, O, Euu."

Nicole took a breath and tried her hardest to make the sounds exactly like he had.

"Aah... E-eeh...I...O...Eu-u."

A giant smile came across her face as she finished. Sam couldn't help but smile as well at her success.

"That was very good Nicole. We'll have to continue practicing for you to master it but this is a very good sign."

Nicole suddenly wrapped her arms around him and put her head to his chest for a quick couple of seconds, holding him in a tight hug while he sat there a little bit confused. When she let go she was still smiling at him and he had turned a little bit red. He coughed a little as an awkward silence began to settle between them.

"Ahem...Okay, so the next thing we have to do is learn consonants."

Nicole was glad that he was able to continue the conversation. She continued to listen to him as he made more sounds but in the back of her mind she was wondering 'Why did I do that?'

* * *

There we go, interesting that in one story I have a couple beginning to break up and in this one I have a couple getting together. Ironic, isn't it? Anyway please tell me what you think of the story so far. Don't worry about Nicole's speech though, it's really difficult to have only one character talk and the other one have to constantly be doing charades so hopefully by next update she will be decently proficient with speaking.

Thank you all for reading and sticking with my stories. I wish you all a wonderful time. Please read and review and until I update again,  
Tybalt


	6. Surprise

Nicole would never get over the feeling of waking up. It was almost like being an AI again and someone had just turned her programing on and she was slowly coming online. It felt...home-y, like a piece of her old life had decided to come with her. Honestly she was grateful for the fact.

She had been longing to become a fully sentient creature for such a long time, but it was nice to have something to remind her of where she was originally from. It gave her stability, when every action, every single thought or feeling that most sentient beings take for granted because they are such an integral part of them she was now experiencing for the first time.

'It's too bad that the nanites hadn't made me younger.' she thought as she slowly pushed herself off of the bed, 'It might have been easier to deal with everything if I was physically at the age where all of this was supposed to be learned.'

As she put her foot down on the floor her entire body shivered without any conscious control.

'Maybe being sentient isn't all it's chalked up to be.'

She was still getting used to how much of her body she was actually not able to control. While she been an AI she had known how the body worked, that most of the bodies functions were controlled automatically, but experiencing the fact first hand was very different from simply knowing it.

Nicole began going through the clothes that Samuel had been kind enough to give her. As the in-between man for the Shinobi Clan and their members in the field he was equipped for almost any problem that might arise. One of the members was female, so he had given Nicole some of the spare clothes that were around.

'I really should find a way of thanking Sam for all he's done for me.' she thought, as she put the finished getting dressed.

'But the question is how? Maybe Sally or Bunnie can give me some advice when I get back home.'

Smiling Nicole began to walk towards the kitchen but stopped when she remembered...Sally was in the hospital right now. Honestly she had been gone for such a long time that she could no longer be sure what was happening back home. The smile that had been on her face slowly disappeared and a melancholy began to set in.

She continued her trek towards the kitchen, this time with much less spring in her step and more wooden movements.

"Sam?"

No answer.

"Samuel?"

Still no answer.

'Well that's odd, he's usually here in the kitchen around now.'

Nicole was rightly surprised when she entered the kitchen and found that her current compatriot/protector was nowhere to be found. Almost everyday he was in here, making breakfast or drinking some tea while reading something. That was how their schedule had been going for the last week or so, she would be the last one to wake up and he would always be in the kitchen, waiting up for her before they fully started their day.

'Well, no point in just waiting around, I'll just start making breakfast. It shouldn't be that hard.'

Nicole hadn't really had much to do around the place. Aside from her learning how to function in an actual body they hadn't worked on teaching her other things. Now though, with her in almost complete control of her new form, she was getting a bit bored. Making breakfast would be a perfect way to alleviate her boredom, and on the plus side it was something that would be decently simple.

Well she had been right, it had been decently simple to make breakfast. It wasn't the best meal ever made but it wasn't a complete disaster. The eggs were done and not to badly burnt. She had also been able to make enough for both her and Samuel in case he hadn't already had his meal.

'The first thing to do though is to find him and ask.'

That was where the problem lay unfortunately. She had already looked through most of the house and there hadn't been a sign of where he was.

Sighing, she leaned against the counter and just started letting her eyes wander around the room.

'Cupboard, Cupboard, table, food closet, basement door, hallway, closet... BASEMENT DOOR!'

Nicole smiled and purposefully walked over and down the stairs.

* * *

She had to admit that walking into Samuel's lab was a little bit...disconcerting. She hadn't been down there since the incident. The place where she had last been what she had been created to be, a place that the biggest change in her entire existence came about.

The lab was clean, concise, but with smalls bits of mess and clutter condensed in their own little sections almost like islands. Samuel was pacing between these islands, obviously searching for something.

As Nicole finished walking down the stairs, and slowly wandered toward Sam, she took her time and just looked around with interest, her fingers unconsciously trailing across the different counter tops and tables. Tables with bits and pieces of robotics, one table with a couple of empty test tubes lying on their sides, rolling around in small circles whenever Sam started walking a little too close to the table.

"Now, where did I leave the blasted thing?"

Sam continued on his quest for whatever it was. He would almost literally dive into a group of things that lay close together and start lifting them up, studying them and then carefully placing them back down in almost the exact same spot. Then he got up and almost ran to another pile of items and repeat the process.

"You know, Sam, if you wanted to find something I would say moving things to a more ordered system would be advisable."

Sam spun rapidly around, his long hair knocking one of the empty test tubes off the table where it shattered on the floor.

"Drat."

Nicole couldn't help the small grin that came across her face but she kindly hid it with her hand.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Sam, I didn't mean to startle you."

Looking up from the remains of the tube, he grinned sheepishly at her.

"Not really your fault. I usually tie my hair up before coming down here. Guess I forgot."

Neither really had anything to say after that. They just stood their, one with their hands behind their back, slowly twisting their hair around while the other had their hands clasped in front, just letting them hang.

"Umm...so, what was it you were searching for down here anyway?"

Sam seemed to perk up a little at the question and he started running around the room searching again while trying to answer her at the same time.

"Well, since you've become...physical, and we've been working on teaching you different things I haven't been down here in sometime. I'm just trying to find that darn..."

At that point he started to struggle with trying to pull out something stuck in one of the piles.

"...small computer that Espio brought..."

Tug.

"...you..."

Another tug.

"...IN!"

With one last pull he was able to pull out what was stuck. However his foot was right near where it had been and the rest of the pile came crashing down on it.

"YEOW!"

Nicole let out a small sigh and walked over to him. Stooping down and grabbing ahold of the junk that had planted itself upon his foot she gave one great heave and he was able to pull his foot out.

Samuel limped over to a nearby chair and sat down, slowly massaging his foot to ease the pain.

"Thanks Nicole."

"No trouble at all. But I must ask, why are you so set on finding my computer? I don't need it anymore...do I?"

In all honesty she didn't know. Having an AI become a physical being was unheard of except in science fiction. Would she be forced to go back to the way she was at some point? Was her physical form only temporary and in time would weaken to the point that she would be reduced to mere bits and bytes?

Sam must have sensed that something was bothering her, as he got up and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry Nicole. I was just looking for it because I thought you might want it."

She shot him a quizzical look at that statement.

"What do you mean 'if I might want it?'"

"Well, I mean, that was part of who you were...are. Having a way of remembering where we have been and what has happened to us is sometimes comforting. I didn't want to accidentally throw it out with most of my junk, whenever I get to cleaning it, unless you really wanted me to."

Nicole really hadn't thought about that. She had just been so focused on her new life, for good reasons she reminded herself, no time had been set aside to think about what to do with some of...her old things.

"Well, there's some work I've been putting off for awhile, so if you don't mind I think I'll go, make a quick breakfast and get started on it."

Breakfast! That was it!

Smiling to herself Nicole grabbed hold of Sam's and hand took off to the stairs, telling him not to worry about breakfast because she had it all worked out.

* * *

"So you mean to say that your form is...self chosen?"

"Yes. I had often wished to become mobian while I was a computer program so when I saw how Eggman had been using the Nanites I saw a chance for, while not an exact experience, a chance at it."

Sam pulled up the end of his hair and began fiddling with it. Nicole had to admit it looked rather cute on him, almost like he was a small child playing with the corners of it's blanket.

"Okay, that makes sense, but why a lynx? Why not something more native to Knothole like a squirrel or a duck or something? Being a lynx would just make you stick out wouldn't it?"

"Well..."

She started to blush a little.

"You see, I've always had a bit of a...dramatic tendency. I never really thought that this would end up being my actual mobian body. I didn't think that it would be possible for me to become mobian. But with the way everything turned out I thought being a lynx was a bit more...interesting?"

Samuel began chuckling at that.

"So *snicker* you're telling me that the only reason that you chose a lynx was to be more flamboyant when you suddenly appeared from the floor to people. *snicker*"

Nicole growled a little and smacked his arm playfully.

"Oh hush you, I don't see you as any better. I remember when Espio brought me here you were so darn excited to show off your fancy stuff. What makes your lab at the bottom of a house made to look like a hermits shake any different, hmm?"

"Hey don't knock the shack, I'll have you know that I built most of this myself."

"It shows too."

"HEY!"

Nicole stood up from the table where they were having after dinner tea and walked off to the sink to wash her cup while she let Sam wash his wounds. Or at least play at it the faker.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The whole room got an almost deadly silence at that sound. The sound was so foreign to Nicole that it took her a bit to remember that it was just somebody at the door. But...Samuel didn't really get that many visitors, so who could it be.

Not really sensing Nicoles question, Sam got up with a bit of a sigh and walked over to the door.

She had assumed that the visitor had some connection with Sam, so she didn't really pay much attention to the door, she just finished cleaning out her cup, making sure that none of the remaining tea dregs would stain it.

As she was finishing and put the cup down she heard Sam call from the door.

"Nicole, it's some people to see you."

'Me? Well that's surprising, but I guess Espio told Rotor and Tails and they decided to visit me.'

She was excited at the prospect of seeing her friends again, and turned to see who it was.

Tails was there alright, but so was she.

"Hello Nicole."

"Hello...Mina."

* * *

So yeah. I'm still alive and kicking... or writing as the case may or may not be. Sorry I took so long on this guys, but life kicks in and I got had to rush my application to the college I'm currently in. Seriously I had to do the whole college final application thing in one week, it's been hectic for me.

However, while I was recuperating from that I've had some time to really analyze my priorities and I'm hoping I'll start writing more. Not just for these stories or for your guy's sake, because while those are important, the whole reason I began writing was for me.

So, instead of writing because I now have a fanbase (a probably dwindled fan base because I've been gone so long) I'm going to start writing for me. Still though, you guys are really really awesome and I thank you for sticking with me, despite my ADD updating habits.

Oh, and I am working on the next chapter of my Tails/Mina story and I'll give you three guesses on what happens.

Please R and R, also see you soon,

Tybalt


End file.
